Developing an Institutional Political Economy Framework Integrating Firms, Markets, and States

Building on the long tradition of diverse schools of thought underlining the importance of institutions in determining economic outcomes, the paper develops an eclectic institutional political economy framework that views the economy as consisting of the four decision-making units including the firm, the market, the state, and foreign states. They represent major institutional arrangements accountable for resource allocation decisions at the firm, industry, national, and global levels. The paper restructures disciplinary and interdisciplinary schools/theories/approaches into a unified framework centered around the four principal decision-making units.